Decoy.



No. 796,147. PATBNTED AUG.1,1906.

J. w. REYNOLDS.

DECO'Y. APPLICATION nun MAR. a. 1904.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 1, 1905.

Application'filed March 3,1904. Serial No. 196,315.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, J AMES W. REYNOLDS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Decoys; and I do herebydeclare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make'and use the same.

This invention relates to devices for decoy ing augmented by the actionof the wind and wave.

For a full understanding of the merits and advantages of my inventionreference is to be had to the following description and the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure Us a perspective view of the decoyas it appears in use. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the decoy devicewhen folded, showing the manner of joining the several sections orsupports of which it is composed. Fig. 3 is a perspective, on anenlarged scale, of the jointed ends of the supports; and Fig. 4 is aninvertedplan view showing the means for holding the jointed supportsdistended or in separated relation.

Making renewed reference to the drawings, wherein similar characters ofnotation indicate corresponding parts appearing in the severalillustrations, 1 designates a central or front vice is in use are heldseparated from eachother and from the front decoy and its support andalso disposed at an angle in the rear of the latter, wherefore one ormore of the duck-like figures 1, 5, and 6 will always be presented tothe eye of the sportsman in side,

elevation notwithstandingthe different positions to which the device maybe shifted by the wind or wave.

With the foregoing description, taken in connection with Fig. 1 of thedrawings, it will be apparent that the supporting-sections 2, 3, and 4act as buoys for the decoys 1, 5, and 6, so that the latter will floatwith their bodies in vertical position, and by joining these sectionstogether one section forms a support for the other, preventing any orall from falling over on their sides.

The means for joining the ends of the supporting-sections 2, 3, and 4preferably consists of a double hinge 7, having three plates or leaves,the central one of which is secured to the end of the support2 and theouterplates are secured to the end of the supports 3 and 4, with theirpivots 8 opposite the edges of the 'In the folded condition the devicemay be readily packed and transported,and when these outer supports 3and 4 are folded outwardly in the rear of the central support 2 the freeends of the outer plates of the hinge abut and prevent the decoys5 and 6from coming to' gether, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Thus the decoys 5 and6 are held separated from each other and at a proper angle from thecentral front decoy 1, as to present themselves in side elevation whenviewed from any position.

Means are provided for holding the decoys 5 and 6 separated from and inthe rear of the central front decoy 1, and the same consists of aflexible connection 9, one end of which may be made fast to either ofthe supports 3 and 4, as at 10, and thence extend across to and throughan eye 11 on the bottom of one of the supports 3 or 4. From this eye 11the cord or rope extends toward the inner or jointed end of the supportand passes through eyes 12 and 13 near each end of the front support 2and on the bottom thereof. To the free end of the cord is attached ananchor 14. The pull on the cord emanating from the weight or relativelyfixed position of the anchor, which pull may be augmented by the wind orwave, causes the cord to remain taut and hold the supports 3 and 4 withtheir dec'oys 5 and 6 in the rear of the decoy 1 and at the proper anglethereto, and this pull holds the free outer edges of the plates-of thehinge or the inner ends of the supports 3 and A in abutting relation, sothat the decoys 5 and 6 cannot be drawn together.

' Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patcut, is

1. A device of the class described, comprising a plurality of supportingmembers having decoys thereon, a hinge connecting said members, meansfor holding the free ends of said members separated, and means includingthe hinge for limiting the separation thereof.

2. A device of the class described, comprising a front central support,two rear supports hinged to the front support, a cord having one endsecured to one of said rear supports and also having a slidingconnection with the other rear support and with the front support, ananchor on the other end of the cord to hold the cord taut and thesupports separated, and decoys on said supports.

3. A device of' the class described, comprising a plurality of buoyantdecoy-sections, a

. hinge having a plurality of plates, each plate being secured to theend of a section, whereby the sections may be folded, an anchor, aflexible connection between the anchor and all of the sections, saidconnection having aslidingengagernent with some of said sections to holdthe sections separated.

4:. A device of the class described, comprising a front decoy-support,rear decoy-supports hinged at their contiguous end edges to the frontsupport and adapted. to have their adjacent outer edges abut whendisposed at an angle to the front support.

5. A device of the class described, comprising a front decoy-support,two rear decoysupports, a hinge having three leaves, the central one ofwhich is secured to the front support, and the outer leaves secured tothe rear supports with their pintles disposed adjacent to the contiguousvertical edges of the rear supports, the rear supports being arranged toabut when disposed at an angle to the front support to hold the freeends of the rear supports separated.

6. A device of the class described, comprising a plurality ofdecoy-supporting members, a hinge composed of a plurality of plates,with a plate attached to one end of each support, the supports alwaysbeing substantially in the same horizontal plane.

7. A foldable decoy comprising a plurality of decoy-supporting members,a hinge connecting the members and a flexible connection engaging eachof said members for holding the members separated.

8. A foldable decoy comprisinga plurality of decoy-supporting members, ahinge connecting the members, an anchor, a flexible connection securedto the anchor and to one of the members and having a sliding engagementwith the other members, and adapted to be held taut by the wind andwaves to hold the members in separated relation.

9. A device of the class described comprising a front decoy-sup1 )ort,rear decoy-supports hinged to the front support and adapted to abut whendisposed at an angle to the front support, and means for holding therear supports in abutting relation.

10. A foldable decoy, comprising a front support and two rear supportsterminally connected to the front support and adapted to lie paralleland contiguous to the front support when folded, the terminal connectioncomprising plates secured one to each support and pivoted at theircontiguous edges, the rear supports being arranged to abut when unfoldedand disposed at an angle to the front support.

In testimony whereof I aliix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES W. REYNOLDS.

Witnesses:

THOMAS L. VVADDINe'roN, VAN B. DE MYER.

